Bel Air detention center employee exposed to likely narcotics

Steve Kilar, The Baltimore Sun

An employee at the Harford County Detention Center was exposed to a substance that investigators believe is narcotic, police said Thursday night.

About 5:30 p.m. a female staff member was sorting incoming inmate mail at the detention center in Bel Air when she came into contact with an unknown substance and then started feeling light-headed and experienced a metallic taste, according to a statement by the Harford County Sheriff's Office.

The mail room was evacuated and quarantined. The employee was taken to the Upper Chesapeake Medical Center and was in stable condition at 9:30 p.m.

Investigators concluded that the substance was not biological and that there were no bio-hazard risks. Samples of the substance are being tested, and the sheriff's office is investigating the incident.